Blog
The Magic of Asking for What You Want
Do you believe you can have virtually anything you want? I do.
We all have a magic wand that can help us achieve our desires, but we forget that we do and overlook the power at our disposal to dramatically increase the odds of having what we say we most want in our lives. We simply need to make requests of others and ASK for what we want. That’s the big secret and the big opportunity.
I’m often asked about my experience in having Steve Jobs as a mentor for many years — and how that came about. We both grew up in the same town (Cupertino, CA) in what would become known as Silicon Valley; Steve was seven years older than I. When I was in high school, I was a member of a group called Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), and we were challenged with approaching someone in business who we admired to ask if they’d be open to mentoring us. I chose Steve because I saw his genius early on (even at my young age) and was fascinated by Apple as the Wonka factory in my own backyard. I approached him at one of a couple of favorite healthy restaurants in town that I’d see him at periodically when I went out with my Mom.
Read More ▼Client Spotlight: MultiView Media
I’m excited to share that one of the start-ups I’ve been working with over the past couple of years, Multiview Media, led by founder/CEO Ray Meadham has launched our multi-camera angle streaming platform. Verizon Media invited us to be one of their spotlight partners a few weeks ago at CES (including a mention by the CEO during his address), and this past weekend we powered a 3-day online fest with one of our partners — JBTV, the long-running music television program aimed at breaking new acts. JBTV provided historic content from its extensive archives and Multiview Media provided its OTT platform to deliver this content at home or via smartphone or tablet – all in a new and interactive way. Featured artists among the two dozen or so during the recent 3-day JBTV Virtual Fest included: Fall Out Boy, Imagine Dragons, BTS, Honne, The Struts, Smashing Pumpkins, Gary Numan, Filter, Portugal the Man, Yungblud, Charli XCX — and others, many of whom played for JBTV early in their careers. Some of the performance footage was pretty rare as a result.
Read More ▼Bringing Much Needed Joy to the World
I’m a member of the Thought Council of the C-Suite Network run by Jeffrey Hayzlett, a highly sought after speaker, author, thought leader & the former CMO of Kodak. A bright light emerged in a recent Zoom session from an inspiring woman named Sheryl Lynn who shared her vision of sparking more joy in the world. This is her passion and purpose and it’s infectious — so much so that I’ve signed on as an ambassador of her organization to help make cultivating and expressing more joy a global movement. Read More ▼
Client Spotlight: AmplifyX
A trend that’s been growing over the past couple of years is one of investing in music and art as alternative asset classes for diversification in one’s portfolio – alongside other established categories like fine wines, rare automobiles, exotic watches, precious metals, and real estate. It seems stressful economic times often underscore the appeal of alternative assets like these. There’s a reason for this influx of late: music royalties and intellectual property (IP) have become desirable investment targets given royalty payments often remain steady over time despite fluctuations in the stock market. For buyers, artists’ catalogs are commodities that can be traded like gold or oil. “If the investment is good, if you’re investing in proven back catalogs, they tend to perform really well independent of any stock movements,” music business writer Cherie Hu. “If you’re investing in a tech stock, a lot of the bigger tech stocks move in the same direction a lot of the time. Investing in music royalties escapes that co-dependence. It’s pure passive income. You’ll make money in your sleep from it. It doesn’t require any proactiveness.” While it may seem odd to think of songs as investment assets, Goldman Sachs has predicted music revenues will more than double to about $131B by 2030 so putting money in songs could prove a pretty wise strategy to diversify a stock portfolio. Read More ▼
Unintended Casualties of the Pandemic
There have certainly been many casualties during the pandemic — loss of life, loss of jobs, and so much more. But small business providers and communities have also been directly impacted by the loss of many vital stores, restaurants, and of service providers. In my own community, I had a favorite restaurant that I frequented several times a week over the past 25 years (kind of like my Cheers) called Hobees. It did not survive. …
Client Spotlight: JEENI
I’ve decided that I’m going to write blogs periodically about some of the cool clients I’m fortunate enough to work with. One of them is a UK-based venture called JEENI run by long-time client, colleague and friend — Mel Croucher; a legend in the UK games industry. Simply put, JEENI is a multi-channel streaming service for independent musicians and performers, providing a unique showcase to put undiscovered talent in front of a global audience. JEENI artists get to keep 100% of everything they earn from the sale of their music and merchandise. JEENI audiences are given the power to vote, donate and be rewarded too. …
Same Old Story — Different Era
There has been so much turbulence and upheaval of late, certainly catalyzed by the global pandemic and the resulting consequences with layoffs and unemployment, uncertainty around a timeframe when we can operate freely in the world again, and the lack of leadership and political climate (at least in the U.S.). However, things have really heated up in the past few months with racial issues and hate crimes, and the resulting protest marches, looting and overall anger, frustration and outrage. …
A Time of Reinvention
I don’t know about you, but with all that’s going on around us at the moment it feels like there’s so much we don’t control these days. There are a lot of things we aren’t in charge of, but one of the things we can do is to go inward, reflect, and take stock of our lives — all areas of our lives. It’s a powerful time to reinvent ourselves and our lives if we take the time to pause and consider whether the choices we’ve made in the past still hold up with where we’re at today in our lives — and where we’re going next.
Some questions to consider: …
Praise for Trader Joe’s Handling of Covid-19
During these ‘shelter in place’ times, save for daily walks, I’ve been limiting myself to going out to replenish groceries every 7-10 days on behalf of myself and my older neighbor. My sole destination is Trader Joe’s. I’m in awe and admiration in terms of how they’ve been handling the shopping experience since SIP began. …
How to Stay Sane While Sheltering in Place
Many of us have been going a little stir crazy after several weeks of sheltering in place. But given it’s likely we’ll be in this situation for quite a while longer, it’s to our benefit to find ways to retain our sanity during these challenging times. Here are a few ideas to share that I’ve found have been working for me. …
Search Resources
Topic Areas & Guests
Categories
Join our mailing list
For insights on industry trends, and for details on special projects/events. We respect your time and your privacy.
